Forecasters at El Paso's National Weather Service office are keeping a close eye on how this year's Monsoon season will develop. It started June 15 and goes through September 30th.

"There's not really conclusive evidence of a strong monsoon this summer, but there's a little bit of hope," John Faucett said, a meteorologist at El Paso's NWS office.

The Borderland needs to hold on to any hope -- as ranchers and other agricultural businesses ask what's next in store for this summer's monsoon.

John said they wonder "do we trim back our herds?" when talking about the potential for rainfall in the coming months.

Faucett said the way in which our atmosphere is setting up could benefit our area with some rain in the coming months.

"The pattern is setting up for the monsoon," Faucett stated. "The bottom line if you average all the things discussed - you would probably come to the conclusion that southern and southwestern New Mexico and perhaps far west Texas, (including) El Paso, has a decent chance of a normal, maybe even an above normal precipitation monsoon. Don't get too excited, O.K.?"

The reason the Borderland needs to contain its excitement, he said, is while the past can help predict the future, it's not always the most reliable method.